Texas drought starts to nick houses

Published 5:30 am, Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle

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Eric Valdes of Keystone Foundation Repair stacks concrete cylinders to level Robert Merkle's home May 25 in Sugar Land. Because of the drought Merkle's foundation is beginning to sag on the ends causing it to split in the middle. less

Eric Valdes of Keystone Foundation Repair stacks concrete cylinders to level Robert Merkle's home May 25 in Sugar Land. Because of the drought Merkle's foundation is beginning to sag on the ends causing it to ... more

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle

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The side seam of Robert Merkle's house is now wider near the top.

The side seam of Robert Merkle's house is now wider near the top.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle

Texas drought starts to nick houses

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Wayne Garcia at first didn't pay much attention to the small crack that appeared in the corner of his Missouri City home.

But when the fault line continued to grow to include the brick and mortar of the Quail Valley residence, Garcia knew he had a problem. His foundation was sinking.

"It went pretty quick with this recent drought," Garcia said. "We're on a golf course, so you have trees from the golf course robbing water from the foundation. That makes matters worse."

While the drought that has gripped much of Texas since mid-February has wreaked havoc on wheat crops and forced ranchers to reduce their herds early, it has boosted the fortunes of foundation repair companies.

Last year, for example, Houston-based Keystone Foundation Repair saw its business go up in June and July, owner Greg Vornkahl said. This year, the phone calls began in late spring as the drought dragged on. They haven't stopped.

"The phone is ringing more now, which means June and July will be real busy," said Vornkahl, who was hired by Garcia to repair his home foundation in Missouri City.

In normal conditions, the soil along the Gulf Coast is moist enough to soften and expand, creating natural hydraulic forces that help lift a home.

In a drought, however, the clay hardens, Vornkahl said.

"With enough expanding and contracting, the foundation will move," he said. "If the water table drops, it causes a house to move at a much more rapid pace."

Exacerbating the problem, trees near a home will absorb water in a drought, possibly causing sewer lines to break and result in even higher repair costs.

The average cost to repair a home foundation is $5,000 to $6,000. The tab could run as high as $50,000 depending on the size of the home, foundation specialists say.

Houston Foundation Repair has received about 40 percent more calls than usual in the past month, company representative Nancy Puentes said.

"Out of five calls a day, we will do work for three of them. Sometimes economics will play into it. If it's not too bad, some decide to just hold on a little bit."

Signs of a damaged foundation include cracks in drywall, doors not hanging squarely, windows sticking and difficult to open, brick pulling away from window frames and cracks in brick and mortar.